Manchester United banter 81860

09 Mar 2019 16:01:18
Ed001 hope you are well.
I agree with your analysis on our cb pairing and its good to hear such a positive review on dias.
I would like to hear your onion on shaw.
I have been really impressed recently as he has improved the defencive side of his game a lot. His positiong has improved and can often be found covering when needed and getting himself into positions to defend.
I still see a major weakness in his game in terms of getting out quicker to prevent crosses coming in but other than that he has improved out of sight.
I would have been happy if we sold him but he has earned his place back through hard work and dedication and i really admire that.
I still think he needs some competition although both young and dalot can play on the left.

{Ed001's Note - I think he has improved a lot but that crossing thing annoys me no end. It is not just him, it is almost all modern day full backs, they do nothing to stop crosses and it is such a basic part of the game that they should be forced to train on it constantly. That is why I like Wan-Bissaka so much, he is the only one I have seen in a long term that consistently stops crosses coming in.

Other than that, everything from Shaw's workrate to his touch has improved, particularly since Ole took over, as he is the type of manager Shaw needs. He is one of those people who will let their head drop very easily and then his performance suffers. Having an arm round his shoulder has made a huge difference.

One other thing is his crossing, his passing can be lax, but he is a full back, he is not there to be pinging pinpoint 50 yard balls, he is there to put a cross in when he gets the chance though. That is something he needs to work on, as you have a number of forwards that are very good on balls crossed in to dangerous areas. It is not that he is bad at it, just not as good as he should be considering it was a strong part of his game at one time.

I would like to see him be a lot more physical with opponents as well, as he is a big, strong boy, he has a lot of weight to bully wingers with. If he started leaning on them more, rather than standing off them, he would at least make it incredibly difficult for them to put a good cross in, even if he doesn't stop them.}

09 Mar 2019 18:55:04
I don't blame him Ed. Creates a problem for us though as there's not many contenders for that position. There's 3-4 centrebacks were linked with, a couple of midfielders and 2-3 possibles for the rightwing/ forward position. But not many right backs.

{Ed001's Note - there are very few good right backs, but you have Dalot and Young for cover.}

09 Mar 2019 19:23:18
Haven’t we seen enough from Dalot at this point to assume he’s our long term RB? Already above average going forward and good defensively considering his age. Given a run at RB I can see him and Shaw locking down the fullback spots for years to come.